UC-NRLF 


B    3    3ME    M57 


THE     NEW 

JOEL     ELU 

— — 1 

HESPERIDES 

VS     SPINGARN 

LIBRARY 

OF  THE 

University  of  California. 

Class 


THE  NEW   HESPERIDES 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 


AND  OTHER  POEMS 


BY 

JOEL  ELIAS  SPINGARN 


mew  l^orft 
STURGIS  &  WALTON 

COMPANY 
1911 

All  rights  reserved 


Copyright  ign 
By  Joel  Elias  Spingarn 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  April,  igii 


TO   MY  MOTHER 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

PROTHALAMION :    A  BRIDAL  HYMN     .     .  i 

THE  NEW  HESPERIDES ii 

IL  CORTEGIANO 30 

THE  NEW  PALACE  OF  ART 33 

YOUNG  LOVE: 

A  Dedication 37 

Spring  Passion 39 

Italian  Poppies 43 

The  Light-House  Bridge 44 

Love's  Wisdom 46 

A  Dream  of  Rose  Gardens 47 

THE  POET 56 

O    MEN    AND    WOMEN,    BEAUTIFUL    AND 

GAY 57 

THE  ALKAHEST 59 


THE  NEW   HESPERIDES 


PROTHALAMION 

Oh,  dawn  that  ushers  in  the  bridal  day, 

And  with  the  twiUght  brings  the  bridal  joy, 

Yours  is  the  torch  that  once  would  light  the  way 

Of  that  fair  pagan  boy, 

Who  guided  hearts,   and  married  their  delight, 

And  closed  the  portals  on  the  nuptial  night; 

No  more  he  comes,  all  winged  with  desire. 

And  flambeau  burning  bright ; 

No  more  he  brings  his  unawakened  lyre. 

And  makes   the    strings   dance   to   the   blowing 

breeze ; 
No  more  his  careless  heart  is  set  on  fire 
In  bower  after  bower  of  amorous  ease. 


PROTHALAMION 
Long  years  ago,  when  on  the  Syrian  hills 
A  glory  shone,  and  all  the  world  grew  light, 
Ours  was  the  day,  and  his  the  endless  night; 
We  left  him  dreaming  on  Hymettus  mount, 
Where  murmur  of  the  bees  his  slumber  fills. 
And  all  the  bubbling  rills; 
The  honey  stolen  from  the  wilding  hive 
Clings  to  the  dryad's  lip;  he  dreams  it  sweet, 
And  her  fond  kisses  keep  his  hope  alive. 
But  waking  finds  the  sun  upon  the  plain. 
With  all  the  world  in  combat  at  his  feet, 
And  all  his  vassals  fallen  from  his  train. 

No  more  we  follow  where  his  torches  led, 
No  more  we  listen  to  his  careless  song; 
Our  hopes  are  high,  and  his  dominion  dead; 
The  graven  tablets  that  undid  this  wrong, 

2 


P  R  O  T  H  A  L  A  M  I  O  N 

The  holy  heart  that  made  the  whole  world  hear, 
Have  taught  us  wisdom;  and  with  wings  of  fire, 
We  can  outsoar  his  torches,  burnt  too  bright; 
We  have  unfettered  love  from  her  old  fear, 
Like  some  enchanted  sprite 
That  has  escaped  the  caverns  of  desire; 
Oh,  bridal  dawn,  your  light  is  not  his  light ! 

And  you,  twin  souls,  who  on  this  happy  day 
Have    married    hearts,    and    mingled    the    two 

streams 
Of  your  own   fates  in  this  more  perfect  way, 
Behold  the  bright  girl  April's  dancing  eyes 
Grow  brighter  with  your  dreams; 
She  sets  the  sun  'mid  showers  in  the  skies. 
To  mock  your  tender  tears;  and  on  the  hills. 
Thro'   the  dank  earth,  wrapped   in  her  curling 

leaf. 


PROTHALA^llON 
The  bloodroot  flower  forgets  her  winter's  grief, 
In  longing  for  your  bridal ;  May-time  brings 
Arbutus  and  anemone,  and  fills 
The  woods  with  perfume,  but  the  April  sun 
Holds  court  in  heaven,  and  the  robin  sings 
Full-hearted  carols  when  the  bride  is  won. 

Oh,  lady,  weeping  at  your  own  delight, — 

A  happy  sorrow  mellowing  your  tear, — 

The  plighted  day,  the  consecrated  night, 

The  honeyed  month,  the  slow-revolving  year, 

Are  yours  and  his  by  right; 

Oh,  guiding  star  of  his  unsundered  fate. 

Thro'  life  and  death,  thro'  hopes  that  cannot  die, 

Keep  his  strong  heart  elate ; 

Be  pilot  of  your  yet  unweathered  bark, 

Faithful  to  that  bright  planet  in  the  sky. 

Thro'  reaches  of  the  far  mysterious  dark. 


P  R  O  T  H  A  L  A  M I  O  N 
Oh,  happy  youth,  bringing  the  bride-heart  home, 
To  seal  with  nuptial  rapture  her  sweet  fate, 
From  out  of  highest  heaven's  awful  dome 
You  were  ordained  to  mate, — 
Twin  passions  of  a  single  hallowed  heart, 
Who  join  the  sweet  and  strong  with  perfect  art, 
And  marry  good  with  great ;  * 
No  mystic  portent,  and  no  elfin  power, 
Rouse  your  desire  in  watches  of  the  night, 
Nor  fair  Armida  of  the  bHssful  bower; 
Her  deepest  magic  is  her  womanhood; 
But  thro'  the  shadows  of  our  earthly  wood, 
Follow  your  star  that  makes  the  heaven  bright. 

Not  here  within  the  bridal  clasp  of  hands, 
But  in  the  Eden  of  your  highest  hope. 
The  perfect  future  stands; 

5 


PROTHALAMION 
You  do  foretoken  that  diviner  day 
We  eat  our  hearts  in  praying  for,  and  grope 
Thro'  shadows  on  the  never-ending  way ; 
The  goal  is  far,  but  earth  and  heaven  the  prize; 
On  this  bright  dawn  let  us  forget  our  fears. 
And  yield  to  every  hope  your  nuptials  rouse; 
For  echoing  Sinai,  Nazareth  is  wise, 
And  all  the  heartache  of  the  grinding  years 
Is  buried  in  your  deathless  marriage  vows. 

So  sang  the  wood-thrush  throbbing  in  my  brain. 

But  the  blithe  robin  dancing  in  my  heart 

Carols  a  softer  strain; 

No  time  is  this  for  peril  or  for  pain, 

When  bright-eyed  April  plays  her  happiest  part, 

Smiling  thro*  dewy  lashes;  no  time  this, 

When  youth  meets  youth,  and  bridegroom  takes 
his  bride, 

6 


PROTHALAMION 
And  love  and  living  seem  a  single  bliss ; 
Oh,  rapture  in  the  twilight  clasp  of  arms, 
Oh,  melody,  oh,  joy  of  virgin  charms. 
Youth  and  the  young  year  budding  side  by  side, 
Make  all  Spring's  flowers  blossom  in  your  kiss ! 


THE  NEW  HESPERIDES 


THE  NEW  HESPERIDES 

AN    AMERICAN    ODE 
I 

Oh,  rich  in  hope,  and  dowered  with  happiness, 
Child  of  the  past,  and  mother  of  us  all, 
I  come  to  pluck  a  blossom  from  the  tree 
Whose    seeds   were   nurtured   in   the   cloistered 

hall; 
I  come  to  garner  from  thy  many  flowers 
The  nursling  of  thy  tenderest  caress; 
I  come,  and  here  I  consecrate  to  thee 
The  treasure  sought  in  thy  sequestered  bowers. 
Myself  in  thyself,  and  thyself  in  me ; 
Here  at  the  threshold  of  our  new-world  dream, 
Hope  of  the  East  in  her  unhappiest  hours, 

II 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
I    fain    once    more   would   light   the    Arcadian 

gleam, 
And  follow  out  the  foot-prints  of  the  quest 
That  thro'  thy  gateway  haunts  the  golden  West ; 
I  would  unfold  the  ceaseless  whispering 
That  lured  men's  hearts  to  seek  a  perfect  land, 
Thro'   infinite  to-morrows,   following  light, 
Until  ourselves  had  found  it  close  at  hand; 
But  Summer  drowsily  knocking  at  the  door 
Bids  me  be  silent,  and  the  passion  of  Spring 
Freights  the  young  bosom;  in  this  glimmering 

clime. 
How  shall  you  bear  the  clangor  of  my  rhyme. 
And  hear  the  world-old  tale  repeated  o'er? 
For  heart  and  heaven  once  again  in  tune 
Make  reason  seem  unreason;  oh,  forget 
The  multitudinous   voices   calling,  "  June, 

12 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
June,  our  sweet  month  of  ever  cloudless  dreams, 
Hath  come  at  last,  hath  come  at  last,  and  set 
The  jewel-weed  aflame  beside  the  streams, 
The  columbine  to  dare  the  rock-bound  height, 
And  in  the  woods  a  thousand  brighter  gleams  " ; 
Forget  the  haunted  glade,  the  tangled  brake, 
Hiding  the  orchid,  and  the  lilied  lake, 
Rich  in  its  myriad  stars ;  —  forget  all  these, 
Tho'  memories  of  their  murmurs  haunt  our  air. 
And  follow  me  to  mild  iEgean  seas. 
Where  first  the  vision  showered  forth  its  light; 
There  loveUer  fruit  it  made  the  orchards  bear, 
And  wilding  dreams  gave  to  a  dreamless  earth, 
Where  pleasure  trembles  on  the  brink  of  pam, 
Where  hope  mocks  hope,  and  death,  foredoomed 
at  birth. 


13 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
Haunts  our  delight  or  smiles  at  our  disdain; 
Where  love  is  anguish,  faith  a  sanguine  stain, 
And  friend  and  foe  but  obverse  and  reverse 
Of  one  base  coinage;  there  the  golden  gleam 
Lit    the   young    earth,    and    mountain-side    and 

stream, 
Ocean  and  meadow,  understood  the  sign; 
So  everywhere  it  shone,  some  happy  hand 
Built  it  an  altar,  sanctified  a  shrine, 
For  incense  fed  with  this  the  youngest  dream 
Of  worlds  enfranchised  from  the  primal  curse, 
The  deathless  vision  of  the  perfect  land. 

11 

In  the  lone  valleys  of  a  Western  isle, 
Beyond  the  venturous  reach  of  Grecian  sail, 
A  mortal  maid  had  won  Poseidon's   smile ; 

14 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
The  estranging  sea  enclosed  her  quiet  vale, 
And  there,  love's  willing  prisoner,  she  reared 
Heroic   offspring;   by   their   mother   borne, 
And  subject  to  the  heritage  of  pain, 
In  them  a  flitting  godhead  still  appeared, 
Not  knowing  human  labors ;  so  their  sire 
Made  of  their  isle  a  marvellous  domain 
Of  plant  and  herb,  and  leagues  of  smiling  corn, 
Untilled,  unploughed,  but  ever  plentiful ; 
He  gave  them  food  that  needed  not  the  fire, 
Built  palaces  that  never  could  decay, 
Or  moulder  into  ruins ;  there  the  bees 
Gave    willingly   their    sweets,    and    sheep    their 

wool. 
For  warmth  at  eve  and  honeyed  mouths  at  day ; 
There  fruit  and  harvest  in  the  mellow  breeze, 


15 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
And  kisses  of  a  mild,  luxurious  sun, 
Found  their  rich  ripening;  in  this  fairest  clime. 
Where  pleasure  waited,  willing  to  be  won, 
He  made  them  and  their  offspring  for  all  time 
Devoid  of  toil,  and  doomed  to  count  the  hours 
By  lily-languors,  and  the  hollow  years 
By  changeless  mood  and  lotos-eating  rest, — 
A  fitting  home  for  all  the  immortal  powers, 
But  not  for  men  from  mortal  mother  sprung, 
And  born  to  the  vain  happiness  of  tears. 
Time  held  her  hours  imprisoned  in  a  cage, 
Like  young  birds  longing  for  the  wildwood  nest ; 
The  ripening  fruit  still  to  the  branches  clung, 
The  oarless  sea  lost  all  its  quickening  zest; 
For  hearts  were  weary,  and  they  longed  to  wage 
Fierce    struggles   with   themselves   and    all   the 
world ; 

i6 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
Till  the  immortal,  seeing  all  was  vain, 
And  sickening  of  their  futile  frenzies,  hurled 
Their  isle  to  atoms,  and  the  people  grope 
Forever  in  the  immemorial  main. 
Here  were  indeed  an  Island  of  the  Blest, 
Which  Plato's  dream,  and  orient  human  hope, 
Reared  in  the  golden  West; 
But  what  avails  the  fairest-hued  young  vision, 
Arcadian  or  Elysian, 

If  summer  bark  should  venture  winter  weather. 
And  heart  and  hope  be  mated  not  together? 
Dreams  are  for  dreamers,  toil  for  human  hands ; 
And  he  who  seeks  shall  find,  shall  surely  find, 
The  only  perfect  lands. 


17 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 

III 

No  longer  can  the  clouded  hope  disguise 

The  dreamer's  heritage  to  the  dsedal  mind; 

Oh,  evermore  beneath  the  open  skies, 

The  hallowed   shimmer  on   mysterious   strands, 

The  undying  vision  and  the  ceaseless  quest, 

Shall  haunt  the  windy  world,  and  all  men's  eyes 

Burn  with  the  sun  toward  the  wondrous  West. 

Some    seek   the   mellow    fruit   whose   blossoms 

flame 

Hesperidean  gardens ;  others  dare 

The  wilder  seas  that  knew  no  charted  name. 

Bound  for  Saturnian  continents,  and  fare 

Thro'  tempest  to  the  Fortunate  Isles  of  fame, 

Forever  seeking  what  they  could  not  find, 

Forever  finding  what  they  did  not  seek; 

And  when  Olympus,  silent  in  its  shame 

i8 


THE    NEW    PIESPERIDES 
At  sight  of  Delphi  closed  and  Sibyls  blind, 
Heard  heaven  thunder  and  the  one  God  speak, 
The  vision  found  new  ardors,  and  the  quest 
Sent  purer  spirits  ever  farther  West: 
As  when  St.  Malo,  in  his  hermit  cell, 
Heart-weary  of  the  changeless   day   and  night, 
Prayers  ever  faithful  to  the  chapel  bell, 
And  human  deed  forswearing  human  right, 
On  mouldy  legends  of  his  pagan  home 
Fed  all  his  dreaming  hours, —  Fields  of  Delight, 
The  Isle  of  Heroes,  Avalon,  and  Mag  Mell, — 
Until  he  yearned  to  burst  the  bonds,  and  roam 
To  find  his  dream,  and  reach  the  perfect  isle, 
Where   freedom's   fetterless   wings   could   never 

tire. 
And  nature's  law  chimed  with  the  heart's  desire. 
Stout-sinewed   mariners    manned   his    coracle, 

19 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
And  thro'  the  waste  they  covered  mile  on  mile, 
Saw  many  marvels,  many  a  giant  race, 
Enchanted  realms,  but  not  the  perfect  place. 
Wearier  and  wearier  grew  his  men,  and  he 
Doubted  the  vision ;  in  the  tossing  night, 
Sick  of  the  hope  that  would  not  let  him  be, 
He  slept,  and  to  his  fitful  slumbers  came 
A  radiant  spirit  garmented  in  flame. 
And  said  to  him :    "  What  hast  thou  sought,  and 

where  ? 
Vain  is  the  quest  that  over  land  and  sea 
Seeks  the  Eternal;  He  is  here  and  there; 
In  every  virtuous  heart  He  builds  His  shrine, 
And  all  pure  thoughts  climb  the  wide  altar-stair ; 
Yet  if  thou  seekest  for  the  perfect  place, 
Not  here  His  kingdom;  but  by  pious  prayer 
And  noble  thought  to  noble  action  wed, 

20 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
Before  His  throne  on  the  great  judgment  day 
It  may  be  thou  shalt  meet  Him  face  to  face.'' 
Then  waking  from  his  dream,  St.  jMalo  said, 
"  Seven   weary   years   and    fruitless   have   been 

mine !  " 
And  turning  eastward,  swiftly  took  his  way 
To  tliat  lone  cell  the  angel  called  divine. 

Angel  of  light  and  being  without  spot. 
Well  mayest  thou  smile  at  our  imperfect  earth, 
The  orbit  of  our  unillumined  lot, 
Who  in  thy  higher  realm  hast  bodied  forth 
The  visible  pageantry  of  quenchless  light; 
For  there  His  kingdom  ever  must  endure, 
And  where  His  kingdom  is  not,  there  is  night; 
Whilst  here  the  canker  gnawing  at  the  rose 
Blights  the  young  bud  of  truth,  and  all  the  fruit 
Is  buried  in  the  drift  of  winter  snows; 

21 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
But  truth  outlasts  her  wild  December  hours, 
For  Spring  finds  Summer  trembling  in  the  root, 
And  the  March  mists  are  melting  into  flowers; 
A  fairer  music  ever  waits  the  lute. 
And  every  rising  sun  helps  us  to  chart 
New  El  Dorados,  year  by  year  to  mine 
New  Californias  in  the  golden  heart, 
And  win  new  Edens  in  the  deed  divine; 
Infinite  toil  is  yet  to  overwhelm. 
Ere  our  poor  earth  is  worthy  of  His  realm ; 
But  His  the  promise,  His  the  glory  be, 
And  here  at  last,  before  the  years  are  done, 
Our  infinite  hope  and  infinite  faith  may  see 
His  earthly  kingdom  won. 


22 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 

IV 

Once  more  the  vision  whispered  in  the  trees 

Her  portents,  calling  sturdy  hearts  to  seek 

Travail  and  turmoil  nothing  could  appease, — 

To  dare  the  dizzy  starlight  of  the  peak, 

Or  fairy  foam  of  far  mysterious  seas: 

The  wide  earth  beckoned ;  ever}'where  the  gleam 

Guided  the  helm  thro'  stormy  night  and  day, 

For  all  the  world  was  brooding  on  the  dream ; 

Farther  and  farther  did  they  race  the  breeze, 

Whither  they  knew  not,  wherefore  who  could 

say? 

Until  there  came  the  marvellous  Genoese, 

Who  carried  a  new  world  in  his  own  heart 

For  twenty  bitter  years,  till  he  at  last 

Found  fitting  home  for  the  Hesperides, 

And  the  dream  planted  on  the  sailor's  chart: 

22, 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
Not  silken  splendor  of  the  East,  nor  gold 
From  Himalayan  hills,  nor  loaded  ships, 
The  famed  mariner  found;  but  from  the  vast 
The  primal  shadows  sullenly  unrolled, 
And  his  bright  torch  turned  light  on  the  eclipse. 
New    world,    new    quest;    and    thither    many 

flocked, 
To  find  the  realms  of  hope,  but  doomed  to  sleep 
Forever  in  the  lonely  glen,  or  rocked. 
Like  idle  wreckage,  on  the  charnel  deep; 
And  there,  far  off,  the  wildernesses  called. 
With  siren  music  and  the  siren  smile, 
To  hardier  spirits,  and  they  sought,  enthralled, 
The  spires  of  Norumbega,  or  the  gold 
Of  El  Dorado,  or  St.  Brandan's  Isle, 
Or  marvels  that  the  Seven  Cities  hold; 
But  nobler  natures,  careless  of  the  guile 

24 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
And  lust  of  treasure,  threw  the  dice  with  death, 
And  lost  or  won ;  but  ever  in  the  quest, 
Like  some  swift  sea-bird  never  needing  rest, 
Following  perfervid  in  the  wake  of  truth, 
The  vision's  inextinguishable  breath 
Fanned   the   bright   flame   of  hope;   thro'    deep 

morass. 
Thro'  ivy-tangles  and  magnolia-bloom, 
The  soldier  Ponce  de  Leon  longed  to  pass, 
To  find  the  Fountain  of  Eternal  Youth: 
Not  there  he  gained,  nor  in  strange  Yucatan 
(Where    Cortez    dared    the    Aztec    gods),    nor 

where 
De  Soto  found  his  glorious  river-doom. 
What  must  be  sought  within  the  heart  of  man. 
Many  there  followed,  searching  for  the  height 
Shimmering  with  trophies  of  victorious  deeds, 

25 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
But  overlooking  flowers  and  finding  weeds ; 
They  bartered  treasure  for  the  golden  gleam, 
Sowing  the  dawn  to  reap  the  endless  night, 
And  for  a  mess  of  pottage  sold  the  dream; 
Seedsmen  of  discord  and  an  inward  doom. 
Pirates  and  plunderers  and  buccaneers. 
With  gold  they  cheapened  beauty's  roseate  bloom  ; 
For  what  avails  the  fairest-hued  young  vision, 
Arcadian  or  Elysian, 

If  the  young  lover  should  forget  his  tryst. 
And  for  the  maid,  unworthy  lips  had  kissed? 
Oh,  he  might  seek  it  in  the  East  or  West, 
Dive  for  it,  soar  for  it  on  distant  strand; 
Only  the  seeker  worthy  of  the  quest 
Shall  find  the  perfect  land. 


26 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 

Y 

O  country  that  Columbus  sought  in  vain, 

And  seeking  thee  De  Leon  found  no  peace, 

For  us  they  left  the  dream  to  reap,  and  gain 

A  fairer  Golden  Fleece ; 

For  us  they  left  the  unascended  heights, 

And  in  our  lives  to  light  the  eternal  fires, 

Like  pinnacled  stars  of  unimagined  nights ; 

For  us  they  left  these  more  than  Fortunate  Isles, 

Found  in  the  highest  heaven  of  our  desires. 

And    guarded    round    with    nature's    sweetest 

smiles ; — 

Oh,  dearest  land,  that  deep  in  Lincoln's  heart, 

In  Franklin's  brain,  and  in  the  righteous  sword 

Of  Washington,  hast  reared  thine  eagle's-nest. 

And  in  their  fame  thy  greater  glory  stored. 

Kindling  the  light  that  never  can  depart, — 

27 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
In  that  high  citadel  within  the  mind, 
Whose  masonry  outlasts  the  baser  hand, 
They  built  a  realm  we  daily  hope  to  find : 
To  live  the  vision  is  the  perfect  land, 
And  from  all  corners  of  our  happy  West, 
From  Shasta  to  the  Southern  gulf,  it  thrills 
Prairie  and  peak  with  promise  of  new  dawn ; 
Nor  all  the  treasure  hoarded  in  our  hills, 
Nor  all  the  metals  moulded  by  our  hands, 
Nor  thundering  beat  of  more  than  human  brawn 
From  out  the  glowing  furnace,  nor  the  ships 
Unloading  all  our  toil  in  distant  lands. 
That  star  of  higher  glory  can  eclipse ; 
True  to  ourselves,  true  to  the  dream,  and  true 
To  the  sweet  stars  emblazoned  in  the  blue, 
Oh,  who  can  tell  the  harvest  we  shall  reap, 
Who  sow  as  seeds  the  truths  that  never  sleep, 

28 


THE    NEW    HESPERIDES 
Daring  the  future?     Not  for  us  to  solve 
The  unreasoning  reason  of  superfluous  woe. 
Death,  and  the  mystery  of  our  sins  and  hates, 
That  hold  the  heart  of  starry  faith  aglow; 
But  Time  to  conquer,  and  unequal  fates 
To  equalize  in  their  supreme  resolve, 
Thro'  the  slow  changes  of  unchanging  time : 
All  the  great  nations  shaped  themselves  for  this, 
All  the  great  battles  fought  for  this  one  cry, 
All  the  great  heroes  died  for  this  one  bliss ;  — 
O  lovely  Eden,  panting  in  the  sway 
That  freedom  gives,  grow  mightier  with  its  pow- 
ers. 
And  prove  thy  heroes  did  not  die  in  vain. 
In  the  mere  turmoil  of  insurgent  hours ; 
For  now  at  last  the  world  is  man's  to  gain, 
And  all  our  hopes  foresee  that  happier  day 

When  man  with  God  shall  in  one  godhead  reign. 

29 


IL  CORTEGIANO 

Nestling  in  the  valley,  with  her  plumage 
As  of  old  a-sparkle,  sleeps  Urbino : 
Steam  has  borne  you  past  her,  while  you  won- 
dered 
Whether  aught  could  rouse  her  from  her  slum- 
bers, 
Since  the  days  her  Raphael  woke  to  beauty. 
Here,  amid  the  heartache  of  our  hurry. 
Fancy  bore  me  to  her  Umbrian  almonds ;  — 
From  a  volume,  bound  in  richest  vellum. 
Dusk  with  age,  and  stamped  with  quaint  devices. 
Came  a  flutter  of  her  ancient  fragrance, 
Lisped  in  speech  the  drip  of  Tuscan  honey. 
Sprightly  ladies  like  Emilia  Pia, 

Swarthy  heroes  like  the  young  Fregoso, 

30 


IL    CORTEGIANO 
Shine  and  sparkle  in  the  glittering  pages. 
In  the  shimmering  lists  of  joust  and  tourney, 
In  the  honeyed  dalliance  of  fair  ladies, 
Prince  and  Courtier  reap  the  fruits  of  knight- 
hood. 
Oh,  the  rose  bloom,  robbed  of  all  her  fragrance, 
Oh,  the  laurel,  hidden  in  men's  bosoms. 
Did  not  thrive  for  baser  hearts  to  pluck  them. 
*'  Tell  me,  dear,  what  is  the  perfect  Courtier?  " — 
"  Watch   me   dare   the   hollow   world    for   chal- 
lenge !  "— 
"What  is  Love?'— "A  million  of  my  kisses!" 

So  they  laughed  and  danced,  and  so  they  jousted, 
Played  with  Death  to  give  them  courtly  graces, 
Finding  Life  no  wider  than  the  tiltyard. 
Finding  Death  no  colder  than  the  coffin ! 

31 


IL    CORTEGIANO 
Not  for  us  with  hungry  hearts  to  chide  them, 
Seeing  more  in  Ufe  than  courtly  graces, 
Seeing  more  in  death  than  crumbHng  pine-wood ; 
Ah,  for  us  CoUimbus  found  new  islands 
Galileo  found  new  stars  in  heaven, 
And  Magellan  all  the  Earth  encircled ; 
Ah,  for  us  the  throbbing  heart  of  Bruno 
Found  a  higher  mind  than  mind  can  fathom, 
And  a  thousand  poets  found  new  manhood ! 
All  for  us  they  lit  up  land  and  water. 
All  for  us  they  thrilled  both  prince  and  people, 
And  the  light  of  courts  went  out  forever. 


32 


THE  NEW  PALACE  OF  ART 
Out  of  the  stars,  sweet  stars,  the  stars  of  peace, 
The  Lord  coins  rainbows  and  the  golden  fleece ; 
And  out  of  life,  the  core  of  human  riches. 
He  fashions  beggars  to  be  thrown  in  ditches. 

What  hope  for  us  if,  panoplied  in  stars, 
He  smiles  with  pity  at  the  beggars'  scars? 
Beauty,  forever  sheltered,  casts  her  spell 
Beyond  the  grasp  of  staggerers  in  hell. 

Beauty  and  pain,  our  interwoven  life, 
Woman  and  man,  but  never  man  and  wife,— 
The  one  must  be  a  beggar  in  the  street 
Ere  that  fair  other  shall  have  bread  to  eat. 

33 


THE    NEW    PALACE    OF    ART 
For  none  but  starvelings  of  the  world  can  feed 
Her  lotos  lips;  she  lives  while  millions  bleed; 
'Tis  the  dread  curse  of  beauty,  which  must  live 
Only  on  gifts  that  agony  can  give ! 

Leisure  she  craves, —  and  straightway  men  must 

sweat ; 
Clean  hand  and  house, —  and  myriad  eyes  are 

wet 
With  all  the  aching  toil  of  her  commands, 
Scouring  her  mansions  and  her  lily  hands. 

I  find  no  pleasure  in  her  lovely  face ; 
I  find  no  quiet  in  her  dwelling  place, 
But  pain,  lust,  agonies,  the  old-world  cry: 
We  shall  not  enter  Eden  till  she  die. 


34 


YOUNG    LOVE 


A  DEDICATION 
(1900) 

Up  to  your  starry  heights  I  send 

These  trembUng  rhymes ;  if  they  abide 
A  moment  on  the  way  they  wend, 

To  share  high  heaven  at  your  side, 
Oh,  take  them  where  you  brighten  suns 
And  planets  with  your  radiant  smile, 
And  in  that  convent  of  God's  nuns, 

Feed  them  cool  kisses  for  a  while ; 
Else  drunk  with  dreaming  of  your  face. 

They  hate  the  brain  that  gave  them  birth 
But  cannot  take  them  to  the  place 

Where  you  shower  starlight  on  poor  earth ; 


Z7 


A    DEDICATION 
Oh,  pity  me !  oh,  pity  them !  — 

Your  nurslings  coming  home  to  take 
Star-jewels  from  the  diadem 

You  carved  in  glory  for  their  sake; 
But  if,  before  your  face,  they  prove 

Unworthy  of  the  crown,  be  sure 
To  make  them  lovely  with  your  love. 

And  in  your  pureness  make  them  pure. 


38 


SPRING  PASSION 
I 

When  blue-eyed  April,  melting  into  May, 

Makes  her  frail  flowers  outvie  the  stars  of  night, 

And  starry  eve  outshine  the  wilding  day ; 

When  the  young  year,  from  snowy  prisons  free, 

Finds  in  her  youth  the  fount  of  her  delight, 

And  shows  high  heaven  how  lovely  earth  may  be.; 

When   hearts,   like   hillside   blossoms,    burst   in 

flower. 

And  time  to  beauty's  worship  consecrate; 

When  passion  of  spring  is  pilot  of  the  hour. 

And  in  herself  the  law  of  human  fate ; 

Then  did  the  flickering  light  of  windy  woods 

Haunt  my  young  brain;  then  did  the  changeful 

sky, 

39 


SPRING    PASSION 
And  violet  banks,  where,  rich  with  scent  of  May, 
The  brook  leaps  over  pebbles,  bubbling  by. 
Hold  fitful  mastery  over  my  wild  moods ; 
Oh,  how  I  hated  the  dull  working  day, 
Oh,  how  I  fretted  in  the  studious  night, 
Envied  the  honey-heavy  whirl  of  bees, 
Or  the  glad  thrushes,  rippling  their  delight 
To  the  mild  dryads  slumbering  in  the  trees. 

So  on  the  banks  of  an  o'ershadowed  stream, 
I  crushed  the  violets  unwillingly. 
And  Pleiads  of  the  wood  lit  up  my  dream : 
Bluebell,  arbutus,  stars  that  never  set. 
First-born  hepatica,  anemone. 
Spring-beauty,  columbine,  and  violet. 
There,  lullabied  by  bobolink  and  thrush. 
Drowsy  with  myriad  silences  of  May, 

40 


SPRING    PASSION 
Once   more   I   dreamt   that   trembling   sigh   and 

blush 
Still  speak  her  thoughts,  and  our  sweet  parting 

tears 
Banish  again  the  doubts  of  night  and  day. 
For  I  am  sick  of  nourishing  my  fears, 
And  sick  of  crushing  hopes  that  cannot  be : 
I  will  drink  in  this  beauty  and  be  free ! 
Come  to  my  heart,  arbutus  ;  bobolink, 
Tell  the  wild  brook  the  story  of  your  love, 
And  I  will  sit  here  quietly  and  think : 


II 


"  Blue  sky,  green  fields,  and  lazy  yellow  sun ! 

Why  should  I  hunger  for  the  burning  South, 
Where  beauty  needs  no  travail  to  be  won. 

Now  I  may  kiss  her  pure  impassioned  mouth? 


41 


SPRING    PASSION 
Winds  rippling  with  the  rich  deHght  of  spring! 

Why  should  I  yearn  for  myriad-colored  skies, 
Lit  by  auroral  suns,  when  I  may  sing 

The  flame  and  rapture  of  her  starry  eyes  ? 

Oh,  song  of  birds,  and  flowers  fair  to  see ! 

Why  should  I  thirst  for  far-off  Eden-isles, 
When  I  may  hear  her  discourse  melody. 

And  bask,  a  dreamer,  in  her  dreamy  smiles  ?  " 


42 


ITALIAN  POPPIES 

Wherever  on  Italian  ground, 

Carried  by  whim,  I  chance  to  go, 
The  poppy  follows  me  around 

Palace  and  pasture,  high  and  low. 
Rich  in  her  red,  she  decks  my  heart 

Like  her  own  meadows ;  sick  of  soul, 
I  watch  the  whirl  of  crowded  art, 

Till  her  pure  passion  makes  me  whole. 

O  simple  flower,  you  speak  the  tongue 
That  tear-drops  answer ;  Xorth  and  South, 

The  lips  of  lovers  as  they  clung, 

Spake  your  sweet  language,  mouth  to  mouth 

Francesca,  ere  she  found  her  doom, 
Planted  you  on  Paolo's  lips  ; 

And  Roman  Antony  saw  you  bloom, 

Flaming,  on  Cleopatra's  ships. 

43 


THE  LIGHT-HOUSE  BRIDGE 

There  where  the  slender  walk  half  bridged  the 
bay, 
That  trembled  with  the  weight  of  shadowed 
stars, 
Where,  over  wastes  of  waters  far  away, 

The  light-house  gleam  stretched  forth  her  yel- 
low bars, 
And  all  of  earth  and  heaven  seemed  asleep, — 

There  were  the  bower  for  our  new-found  bliss, 
And  there  I  sought,  beside  the  breathless  deep, 
A  home  for  our  first  kiss. 

Did  you  not  see  that  all  the  stars  above 

Welcomed   my   tremulous   hope?     Could   you 
not  know 

44 


THE    LIGHT-HOUSE    BRIDGE 
That  here  were  found  a  cradle  fit  for  love, 

Where  the  young  god,  bathed  in  the  starlight 
glow, 
And    nursed    by    summer    winds,    might    gather 
power, 
Outliving  doubt,  suspicion,  and  despair? 
Here  might  have  trembled  Danae's  golden  shower, 
When  all  the  world  was  fair. 

But  love  sheathed  all  his  arrows.     The  shy  moon 

Veiled  her  wan  face  in  clouds,  and,  high  above, 
The  stars  In  chorus  begged  you  for  the  boon, 

And  sky  and  air  were  singing  of  our  love ; 
Yet  did  your  look  deny  me  your  sweet  lips ; 

And  in  this  shrine  our  hearts  might  consecrate, 
Love,  shivering  in  the  darkness  of  eclipse, 

Clung  to  the  skirts  of  fate. 

45 


LOVE'S  WISDOM 

Was  I  not  born  for  other  things  than  this : 
To  dream  within  the  shadows  of  my  room, 
To  waste  my  youthful  heart  in  studious  gloom, 

And  in  the  weary  past  the  present  miss? 

Was  I  not  born  to  taste  of  deeper  bHss 
Than  Winding  eyes  in  poring  over  books, 
When  I  had  rather  feed  on  woman's  looks, 

And  sob  my  soul  out  in  a  single  kiss? 

No,  mine  astronomy,  your  deep-set  eyes, 

And  your  rich  voice,  my  Latin  and  my  Greek, 

And  your  dear  love,  my  sole  philosophy, 
Scholar  and  sage  might  revolutionize : 

In  you  all  language,  learning,  wisdom  be, 

And  all  the  ancients  listen  when  you  speak. 

46 


A  DREAM  OF  ROSE  GARDENS 
I 

One  evening,  while  my  lips  were  warm  and  sweet 

With  the  beloved's  kiss,  low  at  her  feet 

I  rested,  reading  my  Jelaleddin. 

Strange  phrases  and   strange  thoughts  I   found 

therein, 
And  when  I  fell  asleep,  strange  was  my  dream. 

I  dreamt  my  love  once  took  me  by  the  hand, 
And  led  me,  thro'  vague  paths  in  dreamer's  land, 
To  a  dim,  sweet  rose-garden  far  away. 
The  dew  had  vanished  from  the  eyes  of  day, 
Save  where  a  tear-drop  glistened  on  a  rose. 
Or  hid  in  fragile  petals,  like  the  snows 

47 


A    DREAM    OF    ROSE    GARDENS 
That  nestle  in  some  sheltered  spot  in  Spring. 
High  on  the  tree-tops  birds  were  fluttering, 
And  the  beloved  whispered,  ''  Let  us  rest. 
Here  in  the  shadow  of  the  wild  wood  nest, 
And  listen  to  the  warbling  of  the  bird." 
So  we  lay  down,  nor  spake  I  any  word  — 
For  in  my  dream  I  seemed  all  powerless, 
Even  when  strengthened  by  my  love's  caress, 
To  utter  all  that  moved  me  —  so  we  lay. 
Lay  and  dreamt  idly.     From  the  mossy  bower 
The  bird  sang  to  us  in  that  bridal  hour, 
And  we  lay  there  and  listened. 

Heart,  O  heart, 

Seek  you  the  friend,  seek  yon  the  friend,  the 

friend, 

Seek  you  the  friend,  it  caroled;  ploy  your  part 

No  longer;  think  no  more  of  zvhat  you  ore, 

48 


A    DREAM    OF    ROSE    GARDENS 
Seek  yon  the  Eternal,  dreamer?  _  Have  yoti  tried 
To  satisfy  the  never-satisfied? 
Have  you  too  dreamt  of  joy  without  an  end? 
Have  you  too  hungered  after  sun  and  star? 
Seek  you  the  blessed?     Go  zuhere  none  have  trod. 
Seek  you  the  friend?    Forget  all  that  you  are. 
Seek  you  the  Eternal?    Forget  yourself;  be  God! 

The  song  was  hushed  a  moment.     Oh,  the  pain, 
The  longing !     Then  the  bird  began  again : 

Seek  you  the  friend?     Then  dream  no  more  of 

sin, 
Of  sorrow,  faith.     Forget  you  ever  tried 
To  satisfy  the  never-satisfied. 
Forget  yourself,  and  hear  Jeldleddin; 
Forget  yourself,  and  be  as  I  have  been. 

49 


A    DREAM    OF    ROSE    GARDENS 
Embrace  the  fool,  when  he  too  is  a  fool, 
As  we  are  —  yea,  and  go  with  him  to  school 
In  the  gay  tavern,  drinking  ruby  wine. 
Go  to  the  tavern  careless  of  all  grief; 
Taste  there  of  beauty,  and  regard  no  more 
The  fable  of  Belief  and  Unbelief. 
Dreamer,  O  dreamer,  know  the  true  divine: 
Wine  is  the  first,  the  last,  the  golden  door 
To  knozdedge  —  the  knowledge  that  brings  joy 

and  peace. 
There  is  no  longing,  no  unrest,  no  strife, — 
Only  delight,  and  songs  that  never  cease; 
Rather  the  wine-glass  than  men's  bitter  lore. 
Rather  the  wine-glass  than  eternal  life. 

Silence  a  moment  in  my  dream ;  but  she 

Glanced  at  me  for  a  second  tenderly, 

Ah,  tender  but  deep  troubled.     "  No,  not  here," 

50 


A    DREAM    OF    ROSE    GARDENS 
I  heard  her  say ;  "  here  find  we  little  cheer 
Let  us  go  further."     So  we  rose  and  went 
On  thro'  dream  regions  of  sweet  languishment, 
Far,    far   away.     What   had    the    strange    song 

meant  ? 
Why  was  I  ever  humming  o'er  and  o'er : 
"  Taste  there  of  beauty,  and  regard  no  more 
The  fable  of  Belief  and  Unbelief?  " 
Why  was  I  troubled  as  with  unknown  grief  ? 
Why  should  I  dream :  "  Forget  you  ever  tried 
To  satisfy  the  never-satisfied  "  ? 

II 

But  on  we  went  —  she  ever  at  my  side, 

She,  the  beloved,  whispering  comfort  sweet : 

''  Not  here,  not  here,  tho'  pearls  were  at  our  feet ; 

Not  here,  not  here,"  the  dream  beloved  said. 

So  she  led  on,  I  following  where  she  led, 

SI 


A    DREAM    OF    ROSE    GARDENS 
Until  we  came  unto  another  bower, 
Hard  by  a  mountain  stream.     The  evening  hour 
Was  ushered  in  by  Vesper  overhead. 
"  Let  us  he  here  and  rest  awhile,"  she  said ; 
So  we  lay  down  and  rested,  while  a  thrush. 
From  out  a  neighboring  thicket,  made  us  hush. 
Singing  its  song  of  evening : 

Evening  star, 
Knozv  you  what  song  is  —  zvhat  the  song  I  sing? 
Knozv  you  zvhat  song  is,  dreamer  that  you  are, 
Dreamer  and  your  beloved?     When  I  bring 
Dim  harmonies  from  the  revolving  spheres, 
Like  fragrance  from  the  fading  flozvers  of  dusk, 
Sing  I  the  song,  or  am  I  one  zvho  hears 
Szveet  music  elsewhere,  and  but  hums  it  o'er? 
Docs  he  create  the  musk-deer  zvho  makes  musk? 

52 


A    DREAM     OF    ROSE    GARDENS 
Do  I  make  music  tlio'  my  singing  soar? 
Ah,  zchat  is  song,  0  dreamer?     Knozc  you  this? 
Ah,  tell  me  zvhat  is  song,  0  evening  star. 

I  waited  for  the  answer,  and  my  sighs 
Brought  comfort  from  the  sweet  beloved  eyes : 
"  Be   of   good   cheer,"   they   said ;   "  be   of   good 

cheer. 
The  evening  star  will  answer.''     So  we  lay 
Waiting,  as  shipwrecked  sailors  wait  for  day. 
And  then  the  fateful  star: 

Oh,  zvhat  is  song, 
Bird  of  the  tzi'iligJit,  and  you  dreamers  tzi'o, 
0  loz'er  and  beloved?     Who  belong 
To  the  enchanted  realms  that  poets  do? 
Oil,  listen  then,  and  be  as  one  zeho  is 

z2> 


A    DREAM    OF    ROSE    GARDENS 
All  things  in  being  nothing;  song  is  this: 
To  answer  God  zvith  an  eternal  yes; 
To  find  the  deathless  in  the  thing  that  dies; 
To  find  a  heaven  here  —  yea,  with  soid's  eyes. 
And  take  delight  in  it  —  gain  happiness 
By  self-annihilation ;  on  love's  path 
To  sacrifice  for  love  all  that  man  hath. 
Oh,  do  these  things,  and  sing! 

Then  once  again 
She  took  me  by  the  hand,  as  if  in  pain. 
And  led  me  on.     "  Not  here,  O  love,  not  here ; 
Here  is  no  sweet  fulfillment,  and  no  cheer 
For  us  who  look  for  counsel.     Happiness 
By  self-annihilation  ?     I  fear  me  —  yes, 
We  must  seek  elsewhere  for  our  bridal  bower." 
And  I  —  what  dreamt  I  in  that  sad,  sweet  hour  ? 

54 


A    DREAM    OF    ROSE    GARDENS 
Should  I  find  happiness  in  ruby  wine 
Or  in  self-sacrifice  —  find  the  divine 
In  tavern  or  in  eremitic  cell? 
I  knew  no  answer,  but  she  knew  full  well, 
And  in  her  eyes  I  found  it  —  heard  it  tell. 
Love,   love,   O   love !     And  star,  and  bird,  and 

flower. 
Sang  bridal  hymns  in  that  triumphant  hour. 
Love,  love,  O  love !     In  thee  will  I  grow  strong. 


55 


THE  POET 

I  HAVE  not  gathered  these  dreams  out  of  the  read- 
ing of  books; 
They  came  to  me,  flowers  of  dusk,  sweet  with 
the  odor  of  stars; 
Some  of  them  Hve  not  a  day  out  of  their  shadowy 
nooks ; 
Some  of  them  still  show  the  touch  where  my 
fingers  bruised  them  with  scars. 


S6 


O  MEN  AND  WOMEN,  BEAUTIFUL  AND 

GAY 

O  MEN  and  women,  beautiful  and  gay, 
Gay  as  the  sunshine,  beautiful  as  dawn. 
Who  love  the  bloom,  forget  the  blossom  gone. 

Sing  with  the  sunlight,  dance  the  night  away, — 

What  can  you  know  of  feeding  vigils  gray 

With  fuel  of  vain  longing?     How  should  you, 
For  whose  bright  bloom  your  own  heart  brings 
its  dew. 

Taste  of  the  gall  hid  in  the  flower  of  day  ? 

But  I,  oh,  I  have  nourished,  all  apart, 
Flowers  of  passion  with  my  biting  tears ; 
Oh,  I  have  fanned  the  ashes  of  despair 


57 


O    MEN    AND    WOMEN 
With  all  the  sighs  of  these  my  passionate  years ; 
Yea,  I  have  gnawed  the  heart  of  night  and 
care, 
To  keep  myself  from  gnawing  mine  own  heart. 


58 


THE  ALKAHEST 
(On  Brooklyn  Bridge) 

Great  harbor  of  the  world !  to  your  domain 
Vast  hordes  of  men  from  regions  wild  and  rude 
Come  flocking  after  freedom, —  all  the  brood 

Of  Afric  desert  and  Siberian  plain, 

Of  citied  Italy  and  haughty  Spain, 

England,  France,  Russia, —  mountain,  marsh- 
land, wood. 
Lake,  city,  hamlet, —  so  our  people  should 

Build  mightier  Rome  and  lovelier  Greece  again. 

This  is  the  land,  and  here  the  centuried  quest 
Surges  in  wonder ;  and  the  great  world  sees 
The  course  of  things  that  scramble  on  apace, 

59 


THE    ALKAHEST 
Made  plain  and  holy,  and  the  mysteries 
Of  law  and  inequality  and  race 
Solved  in  the  splendor  of  our  alkahest. 


6a 


NOTE 

Of  the  poems  in  this  volume,  some  have  al- 
ready appeared  in  The  ^Atlantic  Monthly,  East 
and  West,  and  The  Mormngside.  The  Nezv 
Hesperides  was  read  before  the  Society  of  Phi 
Beta  Kappa  at  Columbia  University  on  June  ii, 
1901,  and  was  privately  printed  by  the  Society 
for  distribution  among  its  members. 


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